Laboratory of Brain Genomics

It is now possible to examine at a genome-scale level how genetic variation in human alters risk of disease, either directly or through secondary risk factors such as obesity. The high resolution of the genomic approaches allows particular chromosomal regions to be identified for further study so that the pathways involved can be defined and drugable components identified. Our work uses information from high-density genotyping and expression arrays combined with massively-parallel sequencing to examine variations associated with obesity and brain development with a particular emphasis on schizophrenia. A central concern is how information is processed, whether from genomic transcripts or through neuronal arrays.